Ex-ISU president charged with disorderly conduct over lawn scrap

Posted: 04/27/2014, 06:36am | STAFF REPORTS

Timothy Flanagan

Three days after resigning as Illinois State University President, Timothy Flanagan on Tuesday was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct amid allegations he struck a campus employee in a profanity-laced tirade outside his university-owned home.

Illinois State University police had been investigating the Dec. 5 complaint that he struck a grounds superintendent in the chest during an argument over the care of the lawn.

In a statement Tuesday, McLean County State’s Attorney Jason Chambers said Flanagan “yelled insults at the employee and continued to do so even while inches away from his face and flailing his arms around in a manner which alarmed and disturbed (the man).”

University trustees held a special meeting Saturday before accepting Flanagan’s resignation and naming the university’s Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Dietz president. The university didn’t mention the altercation in the statements released Saturday.

A special prosecutor is expected to investigate the incident to avoid a potential conflict because a member of the state’s attorney’s family works at the school in Downstate Normal, according to The Pantagraph newspaper in Bloomington.

Flanagan has previously denied any wrongdoing. His attorney, Stephanie Wong, said in an email to The Associated Press that her earlier review of the matter leaves her confident Flanagan did nothing wrong. Wong declined further comment.

The misdemeanor count is punishable by up to 30 days in jail, though in many cases a conviction has drawn a fine and court supervision.

Flanagan is set to appear in court April 23, and a bond has not been set.